Background: Poor ovarian response (POR) is a high-incidence disease of women, which cause in vitro fertilization failure. Various treatment options have been proposed for women with POR to improve their ovarian response, but with little effect. In recent years, there is a wide range of applications of acupuncture in the process of in vitro fertilization. The meta-analysis and systematic review are designed to analyze whether acupuncture is effective for patients with POR.
Methods: The following databases will be searched from inception to March 2020: Electronic databases consist of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, the Chinese Scientific Journal Database, and Wanfang Database. Other literature resources will also be searched including clinical trial registries, key journals, and meeting records. The results of randomized controlled trials of acupuncture therapy on POR, which are published in Chinese or English, will be embedded. The primary outcome is the clinical pregnancy rate. Data identification, data selection, data extraction, and assessment of bias risk will be completed independently by 2 or more reviewers. STATA/IC 16 will be used to perform the meta-analysis. We will use the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system to evaluate the quality of our evidence. A systematic narrative synthesis will be provided if the quantitative analysis is not available.
Discussion: This study will provide the first meta-analysis and systematic review to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture in treating POR. This protocol provides details to guide this study.
Conclusions: From this review may benefit POR patients or clinical decision-makers.
Prospero registration number: PROSPERO CRD42020169560.